Hall of Honor inductee completes final requirement with art appreciation course

Hall of Honor inductee completes final requirement with art appreciation course

November 5, 2024

Michael Griffin can finally say he’s a Blinn College graduate — more than 50 years after beginning his college journey.

The 71-year-old Brenham resident completed the last core class required for his Associate of Arts degree 52 years after first enrolling at Blinn. Griffin plans to proudly walk across the stage during Blinn’s spring 2025 graduation ceremony, joining fellow graduates who are decades younger.

Griffin’s long journey to graduation began in the early 1970s when he first enrolled at Blinn. After graduating from Brazosport High School, Griffin came to Blinn with hopes of becoming an athletic trainer.

“My mom told me, ‘It’s time to get out of the house and get some experience,’” Griffin recalled.

Griffin served as the athletic trainer for the football and men’s basketball teams, including the 1972 football team, the first in Blinn’s modern era to go undefeated. He still remembers every player on the roster.

“That was a great team. It only had 33 players,” said Griffin.

Griffin attended Blinn for three semesters between 1971 and 1972 before transferring to Texas A&M University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education and his master’s in education administration. He then taught school for three years in Killeen, Texas.

Griffin and his wife Judy – who he had met at a dance in what is now the Bullock Building but was then the Student Center – moved back to Lake Jackson, where Griffin went to work for Dow Chemical Co. He spent 37 ½ years with Dow, with Judy working as a physical therapist in area school districts. After they both retired, they decided to move to Brenham.

“She told me, ‘We’ve lived in your hometown. Now I want to live in my hometown,’” said Griffin.

Griffin had already been active in several Blinn organizations, including the Lettermen’s Association and the Blinn Foundation, even while still not living in Brenham. In recent years, he has been a volunteer with the Foundation’s Clay Shootout, its largest fundraiser of the year. This year, he was recognized as one of five inductees into the Blinn College Alumni and Friends Hall of Honor.

After a friend teased him about never finishing his associate degree, however, Griffin’s curiosity was piqued and he began to wonder if he could earn his Blinn degree through reverse transfer, a process that allows former students who began their education at Blinn to transfer credits they earned at a four-year university toward their associate degree.

Griffin delivered his transcripts to Graduation Manager Kristi Reddoch, who reviewed them under Blinn’s reverse transfer program. To qualify for reverse transfer and receive their associate degree, students must complete at least 15 credit hours at Blinn, meet current degree requirements, and earn a minimum of 60 credit hours across their academic career.

Despite meeting most of the criteria, Griffin’s coursework no longer aligned with Blinn’s updated degree requirements. The missing requirement? A core art class.

Reddoch recommended an online art appreciation course during the Summer II session. Having never taken an online class, Griffin decided to view it as a personal challenge.

“The first week, I was really struggling,” he said. “I was reading every day and all weekend, but I did OK on the first quiz.”

Things improved once Griffin found a physical copy of the textbook, which allowed him to get ahead.

“Once I got through that first week, I got ahead of the game and enjoyed taking the class. It was work to do it, but things got easier,” he said.

For one of his assignments given by instructor Rebecca Andresen, Griffin carved a Blinn Buccaneer figurine that earned him a perfect score. He later gifted the carving to Susan Myers, Executive Director of the Blinn Foundation.

Griffin’s persistence paid off — he not only completed the class but earned more points than the course’s maximum due to bonus questions. He said the effort to finally earn his degree was worth it.

“What is getting an AA liberal arts degree going to do for me today? I’m a retired guy,” he said. “But I can say I did it. And I get a kick out of that. It’s not going to improve my quality of life overall. But I can say I’m not just a Blinn student. I’m a Blinn graduate.”